Tougher new fare gates greet travelers at BART's SFO station in time for busy travel season

Person walks through fare gates

BART has equipped its state-of-the-art Next Generation Fare Gates at its showcase San Francisco International Airport Station just in time for the busy holiday travel season.

SFO Station is now the ninth in the BART system to be outfitted with the more formidable fare gates as part of BART’s highest priority capital project.

“As a transportation system, we take tremendous pride in saying our community is what runs BART," said BART General Manager Bob Powers. "Among the world’s transit agencies, BART relies the most on rider fares; they are directly responsible for funding our operations. These new fare gates will protect against fare evasion, expand access to transit-dependent riders, and reduce system downtime due to maintenance, which helps boost investment in BART’s long-term growth.”

“BART is making great progress on this initiative, which is increasing the sense of safety and security of riders while also bringing in more revenue,” said Bay Area Council President and CEO Jim Wunderman. “We applaud BART’s commitment to making the system safer and working so hard to install these new modern fare gates as quickly as possible.”

The new gates bring an exciting new look to BART. They feature clear swing barriers with a one-of-a-kind door locking mechanism to deter fare evasion. The gates include advanced 3D sensors that can detect if someone is in a wheelchair or has a bike, stroller, or luggage with them, allowing for more time before the swing barrier closes. They feature LED lighting on the swing barriers and pathway through the gate to help visually impaired riders.

“These gates at San Francisco International Airport are an important improvement for travelers and employees at the Bay Area’s premiere airport,” said SFO Airport Director Ivar C. Satero. “The sensors that allow riders with luggage additional time to get through the gates is just one of the game-changing features of the new fare gates.”

BART is moving rapidly to install Next Generation Fare Gates at more stations. Work is currently underway at Coliseum with plan to begin the installation process at Montgomery Street, Powell Street, Warm Springs, and 12th Street/Oakland City Center stations in November.  

By the end of February 2025, BART will have installed new fare gates at more than half its 50 stations.

Full deployment systemwide will be completed by the end of 2025. Learn more about the project at https://www.bart.gov/about/projects/fare-gate.